Thin-ply rolls such as paper towel rolls are commonly used for household cleaning tasks. Within the roll, paper towels are defined in a continuous roll, by perforations across the roll. Holders have been designed to securely support the paper towel rolls at convenient locations for dispensing to users. One type of paper towel holder supports the paper towel roll with its axis oriented horizontally with respect to end supports. Another type of paper towel holder supports the paper towel with its axis oriented vertically with respect to a base. In the past, horizontal paper towel holders are mounted to a vertical support surface (e.g., wall-mounted), and vertical paper towel holders are free-standing on its base. Because of the vertical orientation of the paper towel in a vertical holder, the paper towel roll has a tendency to unravel as the towel roll relaxes under its own weight. Further, some of the past designs do not provide user with an easy way of tearing a piece of towel from the roll without dragging and unrolling too much of the roll on the holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,676 describes a vertical paper towel holder with a pole extending vertically from a base. The vertical pole includes a fixed handle for users to grasp and lift the holder. An annular rim of uniform height is provided at the edge of the base. According to the patent disclosure, the annular rim facilitates detachment of individual towel segments from the roll. However, it has been found that such design has its limitations, and often do not work as well as disclosed.
The assignee of the present application filed several design and utility patent applications, including copending U.S. Design patent application No. 29/260,509 entitled “Flip Top Paper Towel Holder”, filed May 24, 2006; this application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. Design patent application No. 29/260,509 entitled “Flip Top Paper Towel Holder”, filed Jan. 23, 2007; and this application is also a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/251,460, entitled “Holder for Paper Towel Rolls With a Quick Release Retractable Handle”, filed Oct. 14, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/094,808 entitled “Holder for Paper Towel Rolls”, filed Mar. 29, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. Design application No. 29/223,227 entitled “Wall Mount Paper Towel Holder”, filed Feb. 9, 2005, now U.S. Design Pat. No. D518,985, issued Apr. 18, 2006; these applications are being incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. These applications provides improvements to the prior art paper towel holders, by providing structural features to prevent excessive unraveling and/or facilitates detachment of individual towel segments from a paper towel roll.
The present invention provides other improvements over the prior art paper towel holders by providing a different holder structure.